Despite impressive advances, the technology does not exist yet to create fully self-driving cars that are capable of responding to all possible driving and weather conditions.
Meanwhile, in television and online advertisements, automobile manufacturers are stressing the ease and convenience of letting the car do the driving for you. Using smart technology to implement what Volvo automobile ads call “standard driver assistance features,” cars engage in parallel parking, adapt cruise control to match speed to posted speed limits, give blind spot warnings, engage in emergency braking, and take over steering functions in some situations.
Many new cars already have built-in entertainment centers with Internet-connected Infotainment screens available for drivers and passengers (although in late 2021, Tesla announced it was installing a software update to prevent drivers from playing video games while the vehicle is in motion (Tesla to halt games on infotainment screens, The Boston Globe, December 24, p. B9).
Even more connectivity is on the way, such as cars communicating directly with stop signs to determine the right of way; cars receiving highway database information to navigate away from traffic jams; cars which wirelessly exchange information with other cars to improve traffic flow; cars with biosensors to adjust in-the-vehicle environment to reduce stress for drivers and passengers (Fast Forward: The Future of Automobile Technology Is Now, Your AAA Magazine, Winter, 2021). There are plans to make it possible for cars to stop operating if the vehicle detects a driver has had too much alcohol to drink. What health and safety features would you mandate in self-driving cars and electric vehicles?
Many of these self-driving technologies have been shown to improve traffic safety and save lives in accidents. Left unsaid in the ads, however, is that many drivers can and do disable these features, negating any positive impacts (see Uber disabled Volvo's safety system before self-driving accident), and that split-second, sometimes life-or-death decisions, usually made by humans are being handed over to artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms.
Analyzing Self-Driving Cars Ads & Autonomous Cars Ad by Lydia Jankowski, Suhyun Shin, Emily Inman
While Electric Vehicles (EVs) represented only 2% of new car purchases in 2021, the trend is racing rapidly forward. The Biden Administration has a goal of making EVs half of all new vehicle sales by 2030. It is estimated that the country will need 1.25 million public charging outlets by then (there are currently about 150,000 gas stations, although with multiple pumps) (Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure: Where the U.S. Stands Today, Bipartisan Policy Center, August 10, 2021).
Currently charging stations are either operated privately by homeowners or available to car owners in parking lots and other spaces where users pay a fee to use them. Such stations are either owned by the business that has the space where the charger is located or that business pays another organization that produces, operates, and maintains the charger.
Design a plan to make more charging stations available to drivers in your community. Begin by conducting Internet and media-based research about EV charging stations. Then, consider the following prompts before you develop your plan:
Electric Car Charging Station Plan by Lydia Jankowski, Suhyun Shin, Emily Inman
Building Democracy for All: Who Should Decide How and When to Regulate Self-Driving Cars and Trucks?
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